Untitled
by tadako.kazahaya
Summary: dead. XD
1. 00 Prologue

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** I don't usually write fanfics and i'm not very confident about this one. I don't really have a definition for this story either -- it just _is. _I'm a n00b at this and i have no clue if i'm uploading this thing right. xx

**Disclaimer:**

I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

**Claimer:**

I own the made-up last names and original characters. Fnar fnar.

* * *

_**Prologue.**_

_I watched you, as you were fast asleep._

_You're hair has grown._

_You've become so tall._

_You look so much more mature._

_Has it really been a year and a half since you've disappeared? _

_How weary you've grown from the journey you've had to endure_

_worn out in body, in mind, in soul._

_How much rest have you gotten since the last time I've seen you?_

_The least I can do now is to give you this one moment of peace_

_and I will make sure that no one will disturb you._

- --- - --- - --- - --- -_  
_

It was a summer morning. A breeze came in through an opened window and waltzed with the thin, pink curtains, its coolness spreading throughout the room. Kana repositioned herself on the bed to lie on her side and away from the window so the wind would soothe her overheated back. Her black, wavy hair was tied up; she wore only shorts and a tank top and slept without a blanket. Moaning, she opened her eyes. She spotted the clock on the side desk as it glowed a blurry 7:15 AM.

_ More sleep, please…_ the girl thought. Just when she almost drifted back into sleep, her eyes shot opened, and then she abruptly sat up.

"SEVEN FIFTEEN!" she exclaimed as she grabbed her clock and squinted at it to make sure she saw correctly, "I—I overslept!" She took her glasses and rushed out of bed with no time to shower and threw on her school clothes: a light blue plaid skirt and a tie with similar patterns with a white button-down shirt. She took out her hair-tie and briefly fixed her hair, then struggled to find socks, "I don't have time for this...!" she mumbled. Just then, she heard her mom call for her.

"Kana darling, I hope you're up already!" she chimed.

"Yes, mother!" Kana replied. She picked up the first pair of socks she found and placed them on, then ran down stairs to meet her mom at the table.

"Kana darling, I made you toast with jam instead of butter today! I know you're on a secret diet!" her mom said with a proud smile.

"Mother, what gave you that idea! Anyway, I'm running late, so I'll eat this on the way to school," she put the toast on a napkin, then snatched her school bag from the chair and quickly made her way to the door to put her shoes on.

"Don't forget your lunch, Kana darling," her mom said as she placed it next to her, "You did wake up later than usual, but you won't be late to school. You don't have to arrive early every day."

"But, mother, I– I have to go! Bye!" she said, and out the door she went with her lunch and schoolbag in hand. Her mom sighed.

"You forgot your toast."

Kana peered inside the classroom to see that there were already two girls there. _They beat me,_ she thought to herself. Still breathing hard from her lovely morning sprint to class and sweating from the light summer heat, she took a moment to fix herself up and adjusted her glasses. She went straight to her desk as she entered the classroom, which was far away from the two chattering students that paid no mind to her. Kana assumed that they were gossiping about the usual: the latest breakup, the cutest guy on the blitzball team, and etc. Whatever it was, Kana had no interest in it.

After settling down in her seat, she sighed and rested her head on her folded arms and looked out the window to see students loitering beneath the coconut trees that were all too common on Destiny Islands. In the distance, she saw the lone island that stood away from the others – the one island that belonged to a particular group of friends; some however disappeared.

One of them sat in front of her. The girl's name was Kairi. She had auburn hair that reached her shoulders with charming blue eyes. Being verykind, sweet, and not to mention attractive, she was the kind of girl that every one liked and got along with. She was popular, but she was different. Never allowed herself to be influenced by trends, peer pressure or boys. To say in the least, Kana saw her as genuine. The previous two weeks however, Kairi had disappeared from Destiny Islands. For her to vanish shortly after school had started made everyone curious, but that topic was already old news. Still, Kana admired her. Kairi had always treated her kindly and acknowledged her presence. But where she went off to, no one knew.

_ Maybe…_ she thought, _Maybe she finally decided to get up and look for him. _Shook her head and dismissed the idea, finding it too dreamy and unrealistic.

About a year ago, Kairi was best friends with two boys and they would always go to the island. One of them had brown, spiky hair that extended in every direction imaginable with eyes that were as blue as the sky. He had a grin that spread from ear to ear with optimism that was able to cheer up anybody. His name was Sora, and he was particularly fond of Kairi just as Kairi was fond of him. As for the other boy…

"But did you hear?" said one of the loud, babbling girls, "That Kairi girl is back, and she had two guys with her!"

Kana's head perked up with interest as she listened on intently.

"No way!" replied the other girl, "Two guys? _Two_? Wow, seems like _someone_ had fun cutting class!" Kana frowned as the girls had their share of laughs at the implied statement.

_ As if she would do a thing like that…_ Kana thought. She shrugged it off and wondered in amazement if the two boys happened to be the same ones that went missing last year; Sora and the other boy…

"Riku…" she whispered to herself. Riku had silver hair that reached his shoulder with icy eyes that ran a chill down Kana's spine whenever she had made eye contact with him. He was a bit taller and older than Sora and usually wore shirts that revealed his muscular arms. The thought of him still made Kana blush in spite of the fact that he hasn't been seen in a year.

Just then, the bell rang and students made their way into their respective classrooms. Kana sat up and watched people enter expecting to see Kairi with Riku or Sora. Soon after, the teacher entered the room and shut the door as the late bell rang, then began to write on the board. Kana slumped in her desk. _So Kairi's not here after all?_

"Please do the following problems on the board while I do attendance," announced the teacher. Kana sighed and took out her notebook.

- --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kana always walked home from school alone. She didn't really mind – in fact, she enjoyed spending time with herself on walks. Taking the long way home, she came across the shore and decided to sit on the sand. From there, she could see Kairi's island as it stood steady and empty.

Basking in sweet solitude, she breathed in the salty air and closed her eyes. She took off her glasses and set them down on her lap. A rush of longing came in and a wave of thoughts came about.

"If I could just see Riku one more time then maybe I could gather up enough confidence and say hi to him…" she said aloud.

She opened her eyes; clouds were coming in, the wind ruffled the tops of the coconut trees, the ocean waves whispered a soft melody and the seagulls sang their song.

/end

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**A/N:** Pleeeeease review this. I need feedback on this and i don't know if it's boring or what. No flames wanted, just constructional critiques.


	2. 01 Invitation

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** Let's try to get some plot moving.

**Pronunciations:**  
Kamaya: kah-MAH-yah  
Seirya: SAY-ree-ay  
Ashia: AH-shee-ah  
Karihe: KAH-ree-ay

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

**Claimer:** I own the made-up last names and original characters. Fnar fnar.

* * *

.**Chapter 1 - Invitation**

An elegant woman with rosy cheeks and tied up, wavy brown hair walked out of the principal's office. She dressed in a white skirt with a pink top with matching flip-flops. Another woman with short, silver hair followed. She wore black caprice and a blue tank top. The principal, who appeared to be quite short and plump, joined them soon after.

"It was a pleasure, Mrs. Kamaya, Mrs. Seirya," he said, shaking their hands and adjusting his glasses.

"Oh, no, it was _our_ pleasure, Mr. Principal!" the brown-haired woman merrily said.

"Thank you for enrolling our sons into your school," said the other woman, "We can't express our thanks, especially for providing them with uniforms so soon."

"Mom!" said a boy jogging toward them, "You're leaving, now?" he asked. The brown haired lady smiled and her green eyes twinkled with delight. Her son wore navy blue pants with a white button down shirt with a tie that matched the girls' uniform tie.

"Yes, Sora dear. Mommy has work to do! Oh my, what a charming uniform! You look so grown-up!" she cheered.

"You don't have to talk to me like I'm five, Mom!" Sora grunted. He handed her the clothes he changed out of.

"I think it suits you," said a boy who was walking toward them. Kairi followed behind him and chuckled.

"Riku's right, Sora! It does suit you, because you're just like a cute five year old," Kairi said, "And you DO look grown-up."

The silver haired woman looked over Riku's appearance and smiled with satisfaction and said, "You look sharp, honey."

"I'm just wearing the same thing Sora's wearing, Mom" Riku replied.

Sora's mom pecked a kiss on her son's forehead as she lovingly said her goodbyes. Riku's mom patted Riku on the shoulder and instructed him to be good. They both thanked the principal again and left the school building. The principal addressed the two boys and Kairi.

"Sora Kamaya and Riku Seirya, although we've already discussed about your classes and schedules this morning, I will allow you to have a free day with Miss Kairi as your tour guide," he cleared his throat and handed Kairi a note, "Just make sure you don't bother her during her classes."

"Yes sir," chorused Riku and Sora.

As the three of them made their way to Kairi's first period class, she observed the principal's note.

"What's it say?" asked Sora with his hands behind his head.

"Oh, it's just a pass so I don't get a late mark. It also explains stuff about the two of you,"

"Still," said Riku, "I can't believe we were still able to get into this grade after missing a whole year of school. To think that the King could forge fake certificates for graduating Middle School…"

"I wish there weren't ANY school. No more Heartless or Nobodies for us to defeat," Sora replied.

"Well, _I_ had to continue with school. But, who's cares – This is so exciting!" Kairi said happily, "Oh, we're here."

- --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kana yawned. She was extremely tired and struggled to listen to the teacher and her notes almost resembled chicken scratches. _This is what I get for studying until late at night…_ With her elbow on the desk she rested her cheek on her hand and tried to stay awake. In spite of her efforts her vision became blurry and before she knew it her eyes were shut tight and her head was hung forward as she slept.

Just then, the door opened and Kana was shook out of her rest. Kairi walk in and gave the teacher a slip of paper with two boys behind her: Sora and Riku.

The whole classroom began to whisper amongst one another as Kana gaped at the three in awe. She adjusted her glasses to see if her vision was still in check and only to realize that what she saw was real. Sora glanced back at the students anxiously. Kairi waited for instructions from the teacher as he read the note. Riku scanned the classroom. Kana turned away when he caught sight of her.

"Very well," said the teacher, "You two can seat in the vacant seats near Kairi's seat. And Kairi – welcome back," he said. Kairi thanked him and made her way to her seat. The teacher turned to the class, "Class, these two boys will be joining us just for today." He continued to lecture and write notes on the board.

As Kairi sat in front of Kana, Riku sat next to Kairi and Sora next to Kana. Kana sat up straight and stiff as she pushed her glasses up. She briefly took a look at Sora, and then studied Riku with his grown hair and his obvious growth in height and muscle. She couldn't help but gawk at how much his appearance changed.

"Hi," said Sora. Kana almost jumped.

"H-hi?" She squeaked back. Sora smiled.

"Can I borrow a piece of paper?" he whispered. Kana took out her notebook and ripped off a page and handed it to Sora who thanked her and took out a pencil from his pocket. She blushed and looked down at her notes and algebra textbook, embarrassed to have Sora catch her off guard and staring like that.

_I can't believe it! Sora saw me looking at him! _she thought to herself, _But… I can't believe I still feel this way after a whole year…_ She shook her head and scolded herself to listen to the teacher and take notes. Instead of doing so, she peeked up at Riku again, but then took notice of Sora grinning at whatever he was scribbling down on the paper. What was he writing? He didn't have a textbook to get equations from. He folded the paper and threw it on Kairi's desk. Riku took note of this and gave Sora a questioning look, and then turned back.

Kairi took the note and looked at Sora curiously and unfolded it. It read:

_Hey Kairi, when was the last time we passed notes to each other during class? Remember that one time in 5th grade when we got in trouble because of it? Hahahaha! Hey, write something and pass it on to Riku:D -Sora_

Kairi giggled and began to add on more to the note and passed it to Riku. Riku unfolded it and read Sora's message and Kairi's continuation:

_Hey Riku – Sora's being a kid again. Hah, his handwriting it's like a two year old's! He's so cute. :) -Kairi_

Riku tried to hold in his laughter, but let out a small chuckle. At this point, Kana's face flushed and her head sunk lower; hearing Riku laugh made her want to melt and her heart began to beat quicker. _Calm down, calm down_ she thought, as if it would work. Suddenly, Kairi turned around and quickly placed the note on her desk, then turned back. Kana was in disbelief: she passed the note to _her_? She graciously unfolded it and read it:

_Yeah, cute alright. Deep down he's just a little kid with sea urchins as his hair. -Riku_

_What! Hey, that's not fair, you guys are teaming up on me :( Kairi's handwriting is neat, but yours look like tapeworms, Riku! And your hair is longer than mine! What are you, a girl? Hahahaha. And what's this with the two-year old thing? Why am I being treated like a kid today? -Sora_

_Because you ARE a kid. And I had no scissors to cut my hair, and at least my handwriting is legible. Anyway, Kairi you should introduce us to some friends. You know Sora and I haven't been here in a long time. Are Tidus, Selphie and the others still around? -Riku_

_They sure are! Anyway, a lot of people talk to me but I really don't have a lot of friends. I only have one in this class. She's sitting behind me – Say hi, Kana :) -Kairi  
_  
Kana looked up at Kairi, but only to see the back of her head. How could she say that she didn't have many friends? Still in disbelief, she took her pen hesitantly and thought of what to write.

_Hi… I'm Kana Karihe… Nice to meet you… Kana  
_  
She folded the paper again but didn't know who to give it to next: Sora or Riku?  
_  
_"Whatever you kids are doing back there, I advise you to stop," said the teacher. Kana sheepishly looked up at the teacher and put the note away. Sora, Riku and Kairi exchanged guilty looks as Sora whispered a 'sorry' to her.

- --- - --- - --- - --- -

The news of Kairi's return with Sora and Riku had the whole school in an uproar. As far as anyone was concerned, it was the top subject that must be discussed whenever possible. Students who didn't even know Sora or Riku beforehand learned from those who lived on the Islands for over a year. And as if Kairi wasn't already well known in her class, her popularity exploded throughout the whole student body. Made up rumors where already flying back and forth even though the three haven't even spent just a day in school yet.

The day was going by fast and it was already 5th period – lunch. Kana dreaded lunch. She always ended up sitting alone or with a group of people she didn't even talk to. Kairi invited her to seat at her table when she could, but most of the time her table was full. When she couldn't find a seat, she'd eat on the rooftop and study by herself. But today was different.

As Kana entered the lunchroom, right away she saw that Kairi wasn't sitting in her usual seat. Instead, she sat in the table by the corner with Riku, Sora, and a girl she recognized as one of Kairi's friends. Kana gulped and approached them warily to see if she was able to sit with them. _Come on, this is no time to chicken out!_ She told to herself. Riku took notice of her first; Kana froze as their eyes locked. A familiar chill ran down her spine and her cheeks began to warm up. Riku didn't avert his gaze, but didn't say anything either.

"How about it, Riku?" Sora asked. Riku turned to Sora.

"Huh? Oh. Um…" Riku looked at Kana again and in turn made Sora, Kairi and the other girl turn their heads to see her as well.

"Oh, hey, it's you!" Sora greeted with juice in his hand.

"Hi, Kana. Wanna have a seat?" Kairi offered. Kana nodded and sat next to her, placing her lunch on the table. Kairi opened up her vanilla pudding and started to scoop it into her mouth with a plastic spoon.

"Th-thank you…"

"No problem! Guys, this is Kana." She pointed to Riku and Sora with her spoon, "That's Riku and Sora. You two remember her from first period, right?"

"Yeah. The one Sora got in trouble," Riku said. Kana inwardly smiled. _He remembers me…_ She thought. _But of course he does. It was just first period._

"What? You got someone in trouble _already_?" laughed Kairi's friend, "That sounds just like you!" She had light brown hair that flipped outwards with emerald eyes.

"What's THAT suppose to mean?" Sora questioned, "And, I'm real sorry about that, Kana."

"No, it was my fault. I passed the note to her," Kairi said. The other girl turned to Kana and put out her hand for a shake.

"You're Kana right? We never talked before, but I know you. I'm Selphie!" she said as they shook hands.

"You… know me?" Kana asked.

"Course I do! You always get the highest grades and the highest scores on midterms and exams and stuff. Wish I were as smart as you," Selphie replied. She took out a sandwich and a carton of chocolate milk and began to eat.

"Oh… th-thank you." Kana shyly smiled, happy at the fact that she was noticed again somehow.

"Haha, s'not a compliment. It's the truth!"

"Wow, top score on… everything!" Sora asked in amazement as he slurped down his juice.

"Yep. I always ask Kana for help when I don't understand something in math. And she's good at explaining things, too," Kairi added. Just before Kana could reply, a girl came over to the table and sat down next to Riku. Her half-buttoned shirt revealed the little cleavage she had and her skirt was pulled up to the max. Kana bit her lip and viewed her suspiciously – this girl was not good news.

"Hey, Riku," she cooed, "Remember me from Middle School?" she winked flirtatiously with her face caked up in makeup. Riku gave the girl a perplexed look.

"Um, no." he coldly responded. The girl smiled mischievously.

"Well," she continued, "I think you're really somethin' special, so if you want to get together some time…"

Kairi and Sora were dumbfounded as their jaws dropped. Kana clutched her fists and bit her lip in frustration. Who the hell was this chick and why was she all over him like a horny little dog?

"But didn't you just move here right before the school year started?" Selphie interjected. The girl frowned at her and then stood up to coyly place her hand on Riku's shoulder. Riku's expression didn't change and he did not look happy.

"Whatever. So, Riku baby, if you wanna hang out some time, you know I'm just a phone call away," she purred as she slyly left a slip of paper, which was obviously her phone number, in his chest pocket. When she was gone, an awkward silence came about.

"What the hell was _that_?" Sora blurted out. Kairi and Selphie sighed.

"That was a good save, Selphie," said Kairi.

"Hah, it was nothin'," she replied.

Kana shifted in her seat as if she was writhing in resentment. She looked down, not knowing what to do. Then she caught Riku reaching into his chest poeckt. He took out the slip of paper and ripped it up without even looking at it. Somehow, this relieved Kana.

"Hey!" Selphie exclaimed, "Why'd you rip it up? We could of at least used it for prank phone calls!" Kairi and Sora laughed, and even Kana chuckled a little, "Hey, I know! Why don't we all hang out on our island after school!" Selphie cried with excitement, "And we could hang out with Tidus and Wakka like we did before!"

"Oh my gosh! That sounds like soo much fun!" Kairi squealed. She turned to Kana, "You wanna come, too?"

Kana's eyes widened.

"R-really! You mean it!" she asked. She looked at Riku, who nodded in approval, and then to Sora.

"Yeah, come with us!" Sora said.

The moment, however brief, immediately replaced Kana's sadness; she had just been given the greatest invitation in her life.

* * *

. 

**A/N: **Yaaay! Finally chapter one! Yaaaay! I got reviews! Yaaaay! …Yaaaaaaay!  
This was a fun chapter, especially the note passing part. I hope it was entertaining enough!  
So, i'm wondering if anyone thinks that it's weird to have Sora and Riku have parents. ANy thoughts on that? Any thoughts on how i portrayed them?

**Replies:**

**Shiyva **– Thanks a lot for the review! I'll just warn you that Riku's going to find himself in a lot of bad situations in the future, so forgive me if I end up hurting him too much. :D

**Mew Ssomsie** – Wow, you read the prologue twice! That's really flattering – thank you so much!

Review, please!


	3. 02 The Nearness of You

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** I'll tell you this beforehand: according to the manga version of KH, Kairi came to Destiny Islands from another world – probably/possibly Hollow Bastion. And I'm referencing this from the manga because I can't remember KH1 anymore. :B I guess you can just google "kingdom hearts manga scans" and find the translations there if you didn't already buy it. Props to the people who translated it though. But, hey, they have the Chain of Memories manga too, so har har.

Also – since Destiny Islands is a tropical place, I'm going to assume that it only has two seasons: summer and rainy season. -coughphilippinescough-

**Pronunciations:**  
Harano: HAH-rah-noh  
Rin: Rih-n.  
Rekkenji: reh-KEHN-jee.

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Kingdom Hearts II, Final Fantasy nor its characters. And "The nearness of you" is actually a song by Norah Jones. >.>

**Claimer:** I own the made-up last names and original characters.

* * *

. 

**Chapter 2 - The Nearness of You**

Harano Seirya fell back and landed on the couch, her legs sprawled and her arm rested on her forehead. Work was hard and sometimes depressing, especially in a hospital. She was tired of the consistent complaining of patients and their relatives. She was tired of deaths and tired of breaking the sad news to whom it may concern. _I need sleep…_ she thought to herself. Before she was able to drift off into a deep slumber, the front door opened. Groaning, Harano let out inaudible words.

"It's me, Hara" said a familiar voice. Footsteps entered the kitchen area with sounds of objects being placed on the table. "I knew you'd you be home! Are you hungry? I brought you some fruits and I made soup." Hara opened her eyes to see the back of a young woman with wavy brown, tied up hair.

"Rin…" Harano mumbled, "What in God's name are you doing here…?"

"Well, I had a free day today, as you know," she chuckled, walking over to Hara on the couch with a bowl of soup and a glass of water, "And I decided to go grocery shopping. Then I decided to make soup! …But well, I forgot that no one was home to eat it." She smiled innocently and almost dim-wittedly. Hara got up, smoothed out her short, silver hair and took the glass of water, downing it within seconds. "My, aren't we thirsty?"

"Yeah… and _tired_," she said, trying to get a point across, although Rin didn't seem to notice at all. Hara looked at the bowl of soup. "It's too hot to have soup," she complained, "And why shouldn't you eat it yourself?"

"Because I'm not hungry! And rainy season is coming soon so the heat might go away. I know you like Clam Chowder – even though the soup's already cold," she replied sheepishly. Hara sighed and took the bowl of soup in her lap. Rin giggled, "I wonder if Sora and Riku enjoyed their first day of school. It's been so long for them!"

"Oh yeah… where are those two anyway?" Hara wondered as she scooped the thick cream up.

"Sora called the house from school and said they were going to the island with Kairi and some friends. Oh, Sora's such a good boy! And Kairi is such a good girl! I hope they get married," she beamed.

"Heh. Don't expect _too_ much. He's still just a boy," Hara said, "And so it Riku." Rin rested her head on the small living room table with a pensive look.

"You know, Riku looks very mature now. He's beginning to take on Rekkenji's appearance." Hara slammed the bowl of soup on the table, making Rin jump.

"I don't wanna hear his name!" Hara snapped harshly with a glare and a clenched fist.

"But you loved Rekkenji," Rin replied calmly, "Doesn't it make you happy that your son is growing up looking like him?" There was a pause before Hara thought of an answer.

"It's… a touchy subject!" She looked away, embarrassed at her sudden rage and unusual mood. But Rin only smiled.

"Looks like someone's grumpy today!" she playfully scolded. Hara stared back at her, dumbfounded. Rin tilted her head, "What is it?" she asked.

"I just got mad at you."

"Oh!" Rin said as if she hadn't got on to that, "Why, yes you did. Did I forget to apologize?"

Hara stared at her, but Rin only stared back with a confused smile.

"You… air-head," Hara said, "With adolescence like that, its no wonder Sora turned out to be a good kid. I was worried he'd turn too naïve because of you. Or spoiled because you dote on him too much. Oh well, at least he's not a brat."

"Ah, yes! He's very capable of himself!" she replied proudly, totally forgetting about what they were talking about before, "If he wasn't, he wouldn't have never been able to come back home… And, you spilled Clam Chowder on the table." Hara looked down to see globs of soup on her table. She moaned in annoyance.

"You decided to tell me that now? You're hopeless," she mumbled, getting up to get a paper towel. "And… sorry about that."

"Don't apologize! It's _your_ table" Rin chimed reassuringly. Hara sighed and didn't even bother telling Rin what she was apologizing for. "Anyway, they'll be home in an hour or so. I'll go now and wait for Sora to come home." She got up and made her way to the door. Before she went out, Hara called her.

"Hey! Thanks for the… uh. Foods," she said. Rin nodded with a wide cheesy smile, bowed politely and left.

After Hara wiped the soup off the table, she lied down on the couch again and brought relief to her tense shoulders. _Finally, I can sleep now…_ she thought. As if on cue, the phone rang.

"…GRAH." Hara threw the pillow at the phone, knocking it off the table and onto the floor.

- --- - --- - --- - --- -

Splinters few in every direction as the two wooden swords were whacked against each other. Riku and Sora stood face-to-face, grinning with their weapons crossed as Selphie, Tidus, Wakka and Kairi cheered. Kana only watched but enjoyed every minute of seeing Riku in combat for the first time. They broke away from each other; Riku sprinted at Sora for a stab, but Sora dodged and countered the attack. Sora tried to slash across his chest, but Riku jump away before it hit him. Sora jolted at Riku with both hand on the hilt and tried to hit him with a vertical slash above the head. Riku held his sword up above his face and blocked Sora's hit. Their gazes were locked and each grinned.

"Give up! This spar is over!" Riku spat.

"No way!" Sora said, his voice just above a whisper, "I'M the keyblade's chosen wielder!" They broke away from each other and stood in defense stance. Riku couldn't hold his in laughter.

"HAHAHA! That's the corniest thing I've ever heard! You're lucky no one else heard that!" He boomed with hilarity as his stance began to leave him wide opened. Sora dashed at him to take a hit, but within a blink of an eye he was thrown onto the ground with the tip of Riku's wooden sword at his neck. Sora was astonished. "You see? Already over."

"WOOOH!" Selphie cheered.

"Lookin' sharp, man!" Wakka hollered to Riku. Riku dropped his wood to the side and gave a thumbs up. Kana blushed and looked away, but unable to wipe the smile on her face for his victory. Kairi got up and went over to Sora to help him up.

"Wow, you totally lost," Kairi said. Sora smiled back at her.

"Ha, shut up! It's not like _you_ wouldn't be able to beat me!" Sora boasted.

"You wouldn't hit a girl, would you?" Kairi said, nudging Sora. He nudged her back lightly, and together they started to laugh.

"Aww!" Tidus and Selphie chorused. Kana chuckled. Suddenly, she remembered about homework and took a look at her watch, adjusting her glasses. It was 4:34.

"Uh, hey. It's getting late," Kana said.

"Yeah, man. We should get goin'. I got a game this weekend to practice for," Wakka winked, "You too, Tidus."

"I'm game. Riku, you commin'?" Tidus asked.

"Nah."

"I'll go! I have a test to study for tomorrow," Selphie pouted. Kana anxiously bit her lip about the thought of another all-nighter just to study. Tidus glanced at her, who knew about her 'top-student' reputation, half-expecting the girl to come along too. Kana however didn't want to go back with the people she wasn't very familiar with. Knowing this, Kairi went up to Tidus and patted him on the shoulder.

"Bye, Tidus! And Wakka, and Selphie!" She said, rather suddenly. The three looked at her strangely and said their goodbyes, telling Kana is was nice meeting her. As they sailed off back to the mainland, Kairi turned to Kana, "I know you have studies to worry about and I think we're delaying you," she said.

"Oh, no! It's… fine." She looked at Riku, who was picked up the wooden swords and started dusting them off.

"I'm going to put these away," he said, and he walked off into the distance. Sora grunted with his arms crossed.

"Aw, what's wrong? Still upset from the loss?" Kairi teased.

"I can't believe he beat me! I thought I totally surpassed him," Sora complained. Kairi stepped over to him and pinched his cheek as he winced in pain, "Owww!"

"You are so predictable!" she giggled, finally letting go. Sora hug-tackled her as she yelped with laughter, trying to get loose from his grip. Kana was amused, but decided to excuse herself to leave them alone.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she said.

Kana admired the beauty of the island, finding it more picturesque up close rather than seeing it from afar. Finally she got a chance to explore the island on her own – she even saw flowers that she's never seen before. Coming across a strange tree that was bent to the side, she looked at the star-shaped fruit hanging below the leaves. _Paopu fruit!_ She thought, as she recalled the legend. _If two people share a paopu fruit, their destinies will be intertwined,_ she dreamed. Before she began to really enjoy the moment, she realized that she was lost.

"Agh…" she grumbled, and then caught notice of a ladder leading up to some kind of tree house. Assuming she'd see more of the island in a higher view, she climbed it, hoping she'd figure out her location. Suddenly, she froze. Riku was up here, gazing out of the window.

She didn't know what to do, whether to say something or to leave him. All she could do was stare at his perfection: the curve of his muscles, his long silver hair and icy eyes. But wasn't staring considered rude? Even so, she couldn't turn away.

"They look so happy together," he said.

"H-huh?"

"Here, take a look." Riku looked at her for the first time and gestured her to come. Flustered, Kana clumsily got up on the tree house to look at where Riku was looking. There, she saw Kairi and Sora talking, laughing and romping. They seemed like the happiest people on earth. Watching them interact even made Kana happy.

"It's like they're in their own world," Kana agreed. They listened to the two and their rings of laughter as silence only build up between them. "Um, you…" Kana began, trying to break the ice, "…knew I was watching?"

"Yeah. The ladder's kind of creaky."

"Oh."

Kana shifted uncomfortably. She felt small standing next to him but his towering presence only made things so much better. She was afraid to look at him, but peeked anyway – his eyes were fixated on Sora and Kairi and seemed to have some sort of longing. Kana tried to figure out exactly what might be on his mind, but before she thought of something he turned to her. She darted her eyes away, then Riku chuckled.

"W-what?" Kana stuttered.

"You were staring again. Do you do that often?" Kana shyly looked back at him; he had a gentle smile on his face. Her heartbeat started pump faster and her face turned red. She never knew Riku could be so modest, for the Riku she remembered was competitive, especially with Sora, and even a little overconfident. "Come on, let's go," he said, making his way toward the ladder, "After you."

"Th-thanks," she replied.

- --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kana plopped herself on her bed. She was dressed in shorts and a tank top with her hair tied up, and didn't bother to put her glasses away. It was already 12AM, which was late by her standards, and she had just finished her studies. She sighed.

"Riku…" she muttered. A part of her was still in disbelief of their return. The thought of what happened today with Riku and her gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling and almost made her giddy. But feelings were just feelings that needed to be controlled, right? Crushes shouldn't always be taken seriously, and how could Riku ever feel the same towards her? "Still. I can't believe it…" she said aloud, "I think I have a chance to talk to him more now…"

She tucked herself, put her glasses away and switched the light off, calling it a day. After all of the studying that was accomplished, only Riku remained in her head and into her dreams.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so. Corny ending, but I guess it works. 

So I haven't updated in a long time! That is if anyone out there is actually waiting for any updates. I had a hard time with this chapter because of this semi-writer's block (that I'm still kind of working on). School also kept getting in the way. I'm also pretty lazy and I sleep a lot. Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses. I wonder if my writing's improved at all. Anyway, I'll try to update sooner.

And that sparring part. I suck at describing that kidn of stuff, so please don't kill me. TT.TT

Please, please, please, please, PLEEAAASE review!

I need your opinions!

–desperate- X.x


	4. 03 Unfortunate Encounter

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** Long wait. I'm sorry. -.- School's a biznatch. Thank God the year's almost over. ;

And the title is corny, too. Raaargh!1

I just read over what I wrote so far… And good Lord, it had a lot of typos grammar errors! ; . ; Also… I'm trying to make the (original) names less Japanese as possible without having it sound too English either… but I think having more Japanese-based names is inevitable. -.-; But I will try harder! Raaaah!

And also… Kana is not supposed to be a Mary-sue! TT.TT Nor are any of the original characters! So if it seems that way somehow, please flame me 'til your heart's content.

…Or just nudge me about it.

Speaking of Kana, I posted a picture of her on my DA (Deviant Art) account. Just go to "cottonball dot deviant art dot com" and browse my gallery since I'm too lazy giving you the link. And to see more of some drawings based off this fic, then go to my scraps. Ha, what a way to advertise my art.

And lastly: Kana is nearsighted, meaning she can only see things clearly close-up.

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**Pronunciations:**  
Marusaki: mah-roo-SAH-kee  
Gatsuni: GAH-tsoo-nee

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts II.

**Chapter 3 - Unfortunate Encounter**

5:30AM.

Kana woke up and did her usual morning routine: take a shower, brush teeth, brush hair and get dressed. By the time she was done with that, it was already six. She trotted her way downstairs to see her mother still dressed in her nightgown in the kitchen. It was obvious that the parent was still half asleep with her sluggish movements and the way her head was slumped as she tried to brew some coffee.

"Mother, let me." Kana pulled out a chair from the table to let her mom sit down as she took over to make the coffee. As the coffee brewed, she took out some cereal, milk and butter and put bread in the toaster.

"Thank you, darling," her mom replied.

"It's alright. Working as a columnist must be tiring," Kana said as she poured milk and cereal in her bowl. Her mom didn't respond to that, but Kana assumed that it was because she was too tired. Still, she felt uneasy as silence filled the room, as if her mom wasn't telling her something. She pushed the feeling away as she served her mom coffee and toast with butter. The two didn't talk at all while they ate, which made Kana uneasy again.

"You know what I realized, Kana?" her mom suddenly said.

"What?" Kana asked.

"I just… don't seem to take my chances when the opportunity comes sometimes," she confessed, almost absentmindedly. Kana gave her a suspicious look but saw that her mom was still half-asleep. She probably didn't even know what she was talking about. "So Kana! Do me a favor, sweetie… I want you to seize the day! Be bold and assertive!" she encouraged lethargically. Kana thought she shouldn't take the advice too seriously. Even so, she still ended up taking those words to heart in spite of trying to brush it off.

"Um, alright." She got up when she finished her cereal. "It's almost 6:45. I've got to go," she said, putting her bowl in the sink.

"What about lunch? I forgot to prepare some for you."

"It's okay, I'll buy some. See ya."

And with that, Kana left for school.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"Soooooraaaa" someone sang from afar. Sora's eyes peeked opened, but then closed again. "Soooooorraaa!" the singing continued, "Time for schoooool" The door opened and Rin came in and climbed on Sora's bed to sit, staring at him as she smiled. Sora did not get up. "Wake up, dear! It's 7 o'clock and Mommy has to leave soon!" she cooed. Sora still did not get up. Rin paused before she said something, "Riku left for school twenty minutes ago and Kairi is already downstairs finishing breakfast."

"WHAT!" Sora exclaimed, jumping up.

"Ah, finally!" his mom smiled.

"She's already here? Why didn't you wake me up when she _got_ here!" He jumped out of his bed and straight to his closet to get out his uniform.

"Well, I invited her in for breakfast and we started to converse. I forgot that she used to come here every morning so the two of you could walk to school together. Isn't that just _darling_ of her?" she said without breaking her smiling. Sora threw his shirt off and hastily put his white button-down shirt on.

"She's wearing a school outfit, Mom! How could you not—" He stopped in the middle of his sentence before he took his pajama pants off and looked at his grinning mom who just stared back cluelessly. "MOM! I'M CHANGING!" he yelled flustered.

"Oh, my! Pardon me" she said as if she hadn't realized it earlier. But instead of getting out of the room, she turned around and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Mom! What are you _doing_?" he complained.

She didn't answer.

Deciding that he had no time to deal with it, he quickly changed out of pajama pants into school pants. His mom's slowness worried him often, but was used to it. Finally finding a belt, his mom spoke.

"Sora, why don't you propose to Kairi tonight!" she suggested abruptly.

Sora stopped short, then continued to buckle his belt.

"Do I have to remind you that we're still in high school, mom?"

"Oh, but you'd make such darling grandchildren for me!" she blithely exclaimed.

Sora blushed.

"M-mom! We're not even together!" He ran out of the room and went downstairs to see Kairi before his mom could tease him any further. "Hi Kairi, sorry I woke up late," he greeted.

"It's alright… but your tie is crooked," she pointed out grinning. Sora sheepishly laughed, his face turning red at the thought of Kairi fixing his tie for him. The image became a reality when she walked up to him to straighten it out. Her face was close to his; he breathed in the lovely scent of her hair and sighed inwardly. "I guess you were rushing, huh?"

"Y-yeah…" he said. Suddenly he felt a chill run up his spine. He looked up to see his mom watching them from upstairs with a wide grin. He averted his gaze and cringed with embarrassment.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"N-nothing! Let's go!"

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

With the day going by fast, Kana made her way to the cafeteria, happy that she'd see Riku. As expected, he wasn't in her 1st period class but was in her 4th period class, biology, although they didn't sit near each other.

She went straight to the table that they all sat in yesterday to see only Riku sitting there. She gulped anxiously and sat down just a seat away from him.

"Oh, hi," he said.

"Hi…" she replied. He looked out the window with a distant look. Kana felt her face flush at his appearance; those perfectly shaped ice eyes would make any female melt and that shining hair that was comparable to a girl's, yet he was well built with a masculine form in contrast. How did he get so good-looking? _He's even prettier than _meKana thought as she averted her gaze. _Okay, breathe and start a conversation… and – seize the day!_ She thought. She took a deep breath and adjusted her glasses, but before she could say something, Riku spoke first.

"Hey, have we met before?" he asked.

Kana was taken aback. The most she's interacted with him in middle school were quick glances and stares. "Um, maybe."

"Because if I recall correctly, you were the girl that came early to class everyday in 7th grade."

"Oh! You remember that…?"

"Yeah."

Kana couldn't help but smile bashfully, flattered that he remembered her during that time. "But sometimes you came to class before I did… why was that?"

"I don't know. It's relaxing, I suppose… to get away from the crowd once in a while." He rested his elbows on the table and looked at her thoughtfully. "So how come we never talked?"

"Oh, well… I'm… shy," she stated nervously, not sure how he would respond.

"Haha. I guess my presence was overbearing back then, huh? I think I was a little full of myself, too. Maybe I was too arrogant to talk to anyone?" he said nostalgically. He sounded as if he wanted to change, even though he's changed quite a bit in appearance and in personality as well.

"Well, not really… maybe a little, but…" she paused a little to muster up the courage to say this, "…but, somehow I knew that you were still a nice person…"

Looking up at him, she saw that he was looking at her too. A chill went up her spine as she looked into his stare. He had tired eyes as if it showed that he went through something life-changing during the time he disappeared – an experience that took something away and replaced it with a new light. Kana couldn't place her finger on what made this inner change in him, but she knew that he must have suffered. Her flow of thought was interrupted when Riku smiled. Kana blushed at that.

"W-what?"

"You were staring. _Again_," he playfully teased.

"Y-you started it!" she argued. Riku chuckled softly. Kana smiled herself and pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose. Talking with Riku like this was almost a dream; it was as if they were good friends already. But the moment was cut short when Kana noticed that other students, the majority being girls, were gawking at them. She looked down and bit her lip. _I bet it looks weird to see someone like me talk to Riku. Why didn't I think about this before?_

"What's wrong?" Riku asked.

"They're… staring," she muttered. Riku looked up – there were indeed girls looking at them, however they turned away when he saw them.

"So?" he asked. Kana looked up at him unexpectedly.

"You don't care?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know what they're staring at."

"Hey guys," said Kairi from behind. Sora and Selphie were behind her with lunches in their hand.

"Sorry we're late. We went to our lockers," Sora said as they took their seats.

"What'cha guys talkin' about?" Selphie said as she tilted her head.

"Nothing really," Kana replied right away. Kairi smiled at the two, but then noticed Riku yawning.

"Hey, you look pretty tired, Riku," she said. Kana wanted to hit herself in the head for not think much of it earlier.

"Oh yeah, you do! You know – I was so tired once that I fainted in the hallway from exhaustion!" Selphie cheered, giving a proud thumbs up.

"That was because your body was way too weak to keep up your activeness," Kairi sighed. Sora and Kana stared at them dumbly and then both looked at Riku. Kana was concerned, but Sora was suspicious.

"What did _you_ do all night?" he asked. Riku shrugged.

"My mom broke our phone and I tried to fix it. I ended up staying up late cause of it… stupid wires," he said, mumbling that last part.

"Go to the nurse," Sora suggested, or rather, commanded.

"Nah. Anyway, I have to buy a lunch. Be right back," Riku said, getting up.

"M-me too!" Kana got up and the two went to get their lunch. Selphie and Kairi giggled as Sora lifted an eyebrow at them.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Kairi's little plan may be working," Selphie replied.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Harano ran her hand through her short hair as she got out of her parked car, still dressed in her nurse attire. It was her lunch break and she was to meet up with Rin at the local café. Some tables were placed outside and right away she saw Rin sitting by herself, sipping a strawberry Daiquiri.

"Hey, Rin," she said as she sat down. The waiter came right away and Hara ordered a lunch sandwich special and a coke. "So how was work?" she asked when the waiter went off.

"Children are so precious!" she beamed. Hara chuckled; Rin worked at a daycare center, a job she thought that suited her well. "My children are already young adults. I can't wait until Sora makes me some grandchildren."

Hara stared back at her. "And I hope you didn't tell him that?" she asked skeptically.

Rin giggled, "Oh, just this morning"

The waiter came with Hara's coke and a tiramisu, a cake that Rin ordered before. They thanked him and then Hara sighed at her brunette friend.

"I do wonder how that boy copes with you as his mother… But why just Sora? What about your daughter?"

Rin ate her tiramisu and squealed happily as the light, heavenly pastry melted in her mouth. "It's so good!" she praised.

"Ahem. Your _daughter_?" she pushed.

"Oh, yes! I haven't seen her in months! I wonder how that girl is," she replied.

Hara sighed. "Oh, never mind. Marusaki was never the type to marry anyway."

The waiter came back with Hara's sandwich and she ate it hungrily. The two discussed of other things.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

The day went by fast. Kana closed her locker and headed downstairs toward the exit of the school. She spaced out, unable to get Riku out of her head. Without noticing, a smile started to spread across her face. At the bottom of the stairwell, she turned right—

_**CRASH!**_

—and fell right on the floor, dropping all of her books. She winced as her butt started to ache from falling on it.

"Watch where you're going, idiot!" said a female voice. Kana opened her eyes only to have blurred vision.

_My glasses!_ She thought. A hazy figure, which she assumed to be a girl's, stood up from the floor with something in her hand.

"Looking for these?" she asked.

Kana clumsily got up. "I-I'm sorry! Um, are those my g-glasses?" she stuttered.

"What if they are?" the girl retorted. Kana's mind ran wild with sudden dread.

"Please, I need them!" she begged.

"Hmph." The girl stepped closer to whisper something in her ear – Kana could see her now. Her eyes widened as she froze in stinging anxiety at the sudden realization of her identity – one of the most popular, snobbiest girls in school, _and_ the same girl that flirted with Riku the other day. "Then promise me something, honey."

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"How about it, Riku?" Tidus asked.

"I'll think about it."

"Aw, c'mon! You GOTTA join the team! Blitzball is only the best sport out there anyway!"

"Ha, I said I'll think about it, okay? I gotta go,"

"Well, alright. We're gonna try and get Sora into a blitzball junkie too, if that helps you much deciding. Consider yourself warned Riku, cause we're out to get ya!" Tidus grinned.

They waved goodbye and Riku made his way upstairs to his locker. He hadn't opened it yet and he thought he might as well put some books in there so he wouldn't have to carry it.

But then he stopped short. From a good distance, there at the bottom of the stairs was Kana and a girl he recognize from he other day.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"Then promise me something, honey," she said in her ear, "Go any farther in your relationship with Riku and your glasses won't be the only thing I'll break."

Kana's mind went blank. She didn't know what to think and she couldn't hear her thoughts. All she could hear was the quick thumping of her heartbeat.

As they made eye contact, a wave of fear and uncertainty came over her, her conniving smile prickling at her like a rain of thorns as she flipped her long, blonde hair.

"Kana?" said a familiar voice.

The girl stepped back, now only appearing as a blurred face in front of Kana.

"Riku-baby! Sorry I didn't catch you at lunch – you seemed a bit _busy_," she said, sneering that last word at Kana, "You must've been lonely without me."

"I didn't mind," Riku replied. He glanced at Kana who had her back turned to him and noticed her glasses in the blonde girl's hand. "Give her back her glasses."

"Oh, I almost forgot," she said, handing it to her. "So you have my number right? Make sure to call later. See ya, babe!" she winked and then went off upstairs.

Kana adjusted her glasses on, her gaze never leaving the ground.

"Geez. I don't even know her name," Riku grumbled, "Kana, what did she do to you? Why did she have your glasses?" Riku asked. She didn't dare to look at him.

"She… she picked it up for me cause we fell. I have to go," she said, curtly dismissing herself.

She paced herself in the hallway, gradually breaking into a sprint. All her life she's tried to blend within the background where no one would notice her, but as soon as she stepped off neutral ground to have a chance to talk with Riku, _she_ had to come swoop in like a hawk hunting for prey.

_Hina Gatsuni,_ she thought. The name rang in her head.

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**A/N: **Chapter was just a little longer. Not by much though.

Anyway… thank you for all of those who reviewed. Even though the number of reviews is still small, they still make me muchos muchos happy! They're very flattering, _really_! And they keep me going, too.

So, please give me more advice! And if you think this fic sucks, please tell me why and how I can improve it.

And for those of you who read this fic and still didn't review…

…tap that button! XB


	5. 04 Breaking the Ice

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** PAH. IT TAKES SO LONG JUST TO MAKE ONE CHAPTER. O.o I'm real sorry, guys. It's just that when I work hard on something, it takes a little while. X.x

**Pronunciations:**  
Soruen: SOH-roo-ehn

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts II – or Windex. :D

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**Chapter 4 – Breaking the Ice**

"And then she ran off," Riku said. Sora held his chin in wonder with Kairi's school bag slung over his shoulder. It was an old tradition for the two boys to walk Kairi home from school everyday if they didn't decide to hang out.

"So this is the same girl from the other day during lunch," Kairi confirmed. "Her name's Hina. She's known for her good looks but has a bad reputation. Like, you know, spreading rumors, distorting facts, but more than just that."

"Like what?" Sora asked.

"Well. A lot of my acquaintances used to be her friend but left her because they said she was two-faced. While you guys were out, she used… my friend to get close to her boyfriend once; totally tore them apart. She also has a way of manipulating others into doing what she wants… I try to keep my distance from her now."

"Wow," Sora said, impressed.

"But I wonder what Hina said to her, though," Riku said. Sora and Kairi switched glances; they both knew Hina probably threatened her to stay away from Riku. "Oh, wait," Riku went on, "Maybe she's jealous because Kana and I were talking to each other during lunch."

Neither of his friends replied outwardly to that even though they both thought the same. Sora sighed, and then realized that Riku was holding a lot of books.

"Uh, do you have a lot of homework or something?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, you mean these books? Well, actually…" Riku stopped in his tracks. The other two both looked at him puzzled. "These extra books are Kana's. She kind of left them on the floor when she ran off. I don't know why."

"_What_? You mean she just… _forgot_?" Kairi asked in bewilderment. Even Sora was shocked to know that Kana, the highly appraised student, forgot to pick up her books. In fact, it would've been strange if any one had forgotten to. Riku nodded and there was a moment of pause.

"Wait a minute!" Sora cried suddenly. "So this Hina girl picks up her glasses for her, but totally disregards all the other stuff on the floor?"

"I thought the same thing. Nice, isn't she?" Riku complimented sarcastically. Kairi was worried now and nervously bit her thumbnail. "I guess I'll just try to find her before first period tomorrow. She's in your homeroom, right Kai?"

"Riku? Why don't you drop them off at her house right now?" she suggested, totally ignoring his question.

"Eh?"

"Yeah." she pointed in the opposite direction. "The turn we just passed by; go down that road, make a left and her house should be the fourth one on the right; the white one with a five on the mailbox. You can go by yourself, right?"

Riku stared back at her as if he failed to understand. Sora knew what she was up to and stayed quiet.

"Right now?"

"Right now," she repeated in a serious tone, "because she'll feel stupid for just taking off like that without even bringing her homework. And while you're there, maybe you could ask her what happened."

Riku stood defeated and decided to go. "Alright. Go ahead of me, okay?" And with that, he made his way to Kana's house.

Sora spoke after he was sure that his best friend was out of earshot.

"So, wait," Sora said, crossing his arms. "Did you just send him over to her house for the sake of your 'plan' – so they would talk? I'm sure you've figured out that Hina probably scared the hell out of Kana so she'd keep away from him."

"Yeah, obviously," she said. "She's probably so traumatized that she forgot her books. I didn't realize she was that timid…"

Sora nodded.

"Ugh, but what am I going to do?" Kairi continued, making a fist in frustration. "Hina involvement in this isn't good news at all! What if she does something really bad to Kana? I shouldn't have had Riku go to her house – that would just make things worse for Kana."

"H-hey…" Sora placed a hand on her shoulder. "All you wanted for her was to gain enough confidence in herself."

"And to use that confidence to confess her feelings for Riku," she added.

"Uh, that too," he replied, still unsure of how she found that out. "But maybe Hina will just turn out to be an obstacle for Kana to overcome, like a hurdle."

Kairi thought for a moment and looked up at Sora with an uneasy look. He smiled.

"Hey," he said, taking his hand off her shoulder, "cheer up. Maybe Kana's stronger than you think."

Kairi smiled out of relief. She boldly took his hand, making him stiffen his posture. His face flushed red but when he saw her face, she was a little red too.

"Thanks… for being optimistic, Sora," she said. "Oh. And I _do_ think Kana would freak out if she were to ever find out that she forgot her homework."

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"GRAAAAHHH!"

Kana threw a small pillow across her room, knocking down her collection of thick hardcover novels off the shelf. She fell back on her bed; her black wavy hair lying dispersed on the untidy sheets like vines growing on a wall. She put her hands on her head.

"I'm so _stupid_ !" she exclaimed. Having the most dangerous girl threaten her was pretty bad, but to be forbidden to talk to Riku was even worse. Turning to her side, she grumbled. She did not want to revert back to just observing Riku from afar like in middle school. Not only was she plucked off her new social life so soon but she had also forgotten her homework to make matters even more troublesome. She had no time to worry about why her mom was late from work for the second time.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Kana reluctantly got out of bed to open the door, expecting it to be her mom. _Why doesn't she just go through the garage?_ She thought.

She grabbed the doorknob and the door opened, not even bothering to look up, "Mother, I'm starting to worry about—"

"Hi."

Kana looked up. Her mouth dropped. Her eyes grew wide. Riku was standing on her front porch.

"Uh, I brought your stuff. You left them," he said, handing her the books.

She adjusted her glasses, still in shock and disbelief, and hesitantly took them.

"Th-thank… you," she stuttered, "Um, excuse me for one sec." She retreated back into the house to put her books down on the living room table. _Why is he here?_ She thought.

Meanwhile, Riku thought indecisively about how he should talk to her about the incident with Hina. _Maybe I should ask alluded questions to get the answer from her indirectly? No, I should just be direct… _he thought. Before he could make up his mind, Kana met him at the door again.

"Thanks again…" she murmured.

The way she seemed to tremble uneasily made Riku think twice about asking.

"No problem. Um… I think I'll go now. See ya." Riku stepped down from her porch – he didn't like butting into other people's business anyway. Kana felt like her heart was being squeezed – he was leaving before she had a chance to say anything. She shut her eyes.

"W-wait!" she called out. Riku turned around. She didn't know what to say. _What am I doing?_ She thought."How did you find my house?"

"Oh, yeah. Kairi told me where it was. She said it would've been better if I gave you your books now," he replied.

"Oh."

An awkward silence came about as neither of them moved an inch. Kana's face turned pink; he was too good-looking for his own good. She looked away as soon as she realized she was staring again. Riku smirked.

"Trying to break that habit, huh?" he joshed.

Kana laughed sheepishly in response. "I'm sorry, I just…"

"No, it's okay." Riku took a deep breath. Thinking of this moment as an opportunity, he decided to go along with asking. "Sorry to ask, but what exactly happened there with you and Hina?"

Kana paused, uncertain of what to tell him.

"N-nothing…" she replied shyly. Riku could tell right away that she was lying. Sighing, the silver-haired boy decided to drop it there.

"Well, alright. Sorry to pry. Anyway, I'll go now. Your dad probably doesn't like strange guys randomly visiting you. See you." And with that, he turned to walk away.

"I don't have a dad," she called out suddenly. Riku stopped. He looked back at her, surprised. Now it was _his_ turn to be speechless.

"I'm sorry…" he said. Kana shook her head.

"No, it's alright. I'm not offended." She smiled at him and looked at the ground, wondering why she ended up stalling him again.

Riku thought for a moment. "You're home alone?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't know where my mom is. She's usually home by now… why?" she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. He shrugged.

"If that's the case, then I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind if I waited here with you, right?" he asked.

"W-what?" she answered dumbly. Before she could say any further. Riku sat on the steps.

"Sit with me," he insisted.

"Okay…" She said hesitantly. A sudden wave of paranoia came about her and she looked around the block as if someone was watching them. _What if Hina sees us? Or even a friend of hers?_

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing." She looked up at him, his jade eyes glimmering from the sun's reflection. Looking away, she smelled his scent, an indescribable aroma that soothed her. She felt her cheeks warm up when it grew red. Placing her folded arms on her knees, she rested her chin on it. She shut her eyes, feeling an uncomfortable dread. _I wish I could enjoy this moment without having Hina's threat bug me._

"I'll tell you a secret," Riku said suddenly. "I don't have a dad either."

"Huh?" her head perked up and she was looking at him now. "Really?"

"Yeah. He died when I was young, so I don't remember him."

"Oh… you're lucky," she said solemnly.

"Why?"

"Because mine only died two years ago. That's… that's when we moved here. My mom said it would help us forget if we moved." Kana looked up at the sky and exhaled. It was nice opening up to him like this but she imagined Hina would've killed her by now.

"Is that why you were so quiet then? Because you were sad about it?" he asked, luring her even more into talking.

"Yeah… I was forced to leave my home and my friends after my dad died. I felt like I was losing everything. So when I came to these islands, I was miserable."

Riku listened on intently. "Must've been tough, huh?"

"It was…"Kana shook her head. "I'm sorry for rambling. What about you?"

"Me? Hmmm… he died when I was four or five. I remember my mom crying all the time." He chuckled. "If you knew my mom you would've thought it was out of character for her. I must've given her a hard time, cause I grew up hardheaded and arrogant."

_You're not like that now_, Kana thought. "I tried to be a good student to make my mom happy. Because for a while, I hated her because I felt like she never considered my feelings… but afterwards, I realized that she probably suffered more than I did… and that I was the only one she had left."

"Mm. You're right." All of a sudden, a cloud came in and blocked the sunlight. Riku looked up to see that the clouds were dark. The beginning of the rainy season always had a spontaneous forecast. "I think it's going to rain. I wonder where your mom is."

"Me too. I think you should just go home before it starts to downpour, if it does," she said, getting up.

"Alright. You sure you're going to be okay?"

"I will. But before you leave…"

"Yeah?"

Kana gulped. "Why did you decide to tell me all that?"

"To break the ice," he replied immediately. Kana gave him an unexpected look as he shrugged. "But I think you were the one who talked more than I did."

Kana blushed at that. He laughed appreciatively.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," he said. "Bye."

"Bye…" Kana watched him leave the neighborhood. She smacked her forehead when she remembered about Hina and her warning, feeling stupid for forgetting about it at all. In spite of this, she smiled. _If talking to Riku makes me forget about the bad things… then I wouldn't give up my time with him for the world. _She sighed, grateful that he took the initiative to start a conversation with her. "Thanks, Riku…" she mumbled.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

A half full Windex and a roll of paper towel rested on the windowsill and a vacuum stood patiently by an opened closet with the broom. Rin sat on the floor with a scrapbook on her lap and a duster lying forgotten by her leg. She turned a page, her sea green eyes scanning the old, discolored photos. A soft, nostalgic smiles spread across her face when she spotted a picture of her and Hara together in their old high school uniform. As soon as she turned to the next page, the phone rang. She placed the scrapbook on the ground without closing it and went over to the kitchen to pick up the phone.

"Kamaya residents!" Rin chimed happily. The caller was male with the tone of a tenor's. She gasped. "Soruen! It's you, isn't it?" She listened on attentively to what the caller was saying. All of a sudden her expression turned unusually serious from her typical lightheartedness. "But you promised that I would see you tomorrow. You haven't even seen Sora yet, and—… Yes, I know, but even _she_ hasn't arrived yet."

Rin paced back and forth before leaning against the refrigerator with a sad look in her eyes, her fingers tangled in the phone chord.

"So next week? Very well… will we be seeing you on TV again? …Thursday? Okay. I love you too. Bye, bye."

She hung up the phone and headed back to the living room to continue what she was originally set out to do: clean the house. Before she got started, Sora came in from the main entrance.

"Hi, Mom," he greeted.

"Sora dearest!" his mom cheered as she dotingly placed a kiss on his forehead. Her carefree smile returned on her face as if there was nothing wrong happened. "How was school, honey?"

"Fine, fine," he replied as he noticed the cleaning tool displayed in the living room. "Oh, I'll help you clean the house after I put my stuff in my room."

"Oh, thank you so much, dear!" she beamed.

"Because God knows WHAT might happen if you did it yourself. You can be clumsy sometime," he added. And with that, he trotted upstairs.

Rin only chuckled in response.

She went over to the scrapbook on the floor to put it back in the box where it came from with the rest of the picture books. Before she did, a faded picture of a handsome young man with spiky hair caught her eye. Sora resembled him except for the noticeable shadows of his shaved facial hair. On the bottom of the picture it said in text: Soruen Kamaya – Blitzball Team Captain – Destiny Islands University. She shut the book when she heard Sora come back down and quickly put it away. He came up next to her and saw her smiling.

"Thank you for being a good boy, Sora," she said. Sora gave her a confused look from that vague comment, but decided to shrug it off.

* * *

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**A/N:** Bleh, not the best chapter I've ever written, but yeah. X.x I feel like this chapter was really short.

I'd like the thank everyone for reading and reviewing this! You've all touched my heart, really! –sobs with tears of joy-

**Responds:**

**Eckorain**- Thanks for the review. I really appreciate it… it's really, truly, very encouraging to hear that others want me to continue with this! I'm so touched…! TT.TT -hug!-

**Mew****Ssomsie**- Oh man, yer right. I SHOULD think up of a title. O.o Hmm, but I just don't know what to name it, you know? I only draw blanks in my head. Hmm, well, I name my chapters after I finish them, so maybe it works the same way for story writing… although I hope not. O.o Do you have any suggestions?

**Mysterious Prophetess**- Thanks for reviewing. I'm always unsure if I'm good enough, you know? X.x

**IOU**- THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I AM VERY FLATTERED. X3

**Majinbuu**- Well, actually, I'm not going to have much heartless and nobodies, but I'm not going to exclude the other-worlds factor. It's just not going to be the strongest point of the story, since this is suppose to be a lighthearted romance/comedy/highschool fic… but you never know. I just might change my mind. ;o

**Jupiter-Lightning-** I'm glad to hear that my grammar and punctuation improved. It's not good if I can't type proper English, no? ;3 So, Kana's not Mary-Sue material? Thanks for telling me this, because I'm trying to avoid the Mary-Sue thing. . I'm going to have her gradually develop throughout the story. :D

**Angel**- Oh, wow, I'm glad I actually got someone hooked on this. . Thanks muchly!

**Kanshin's Smile**- I'M lovin' _you_ ;3

**Hopeless-romantic121**- Wow, really? Thanks a bunch! . Actually, I can see why you don't like fics that have a main character immediately like said love interest. I don't particularly resent them, but yeah, they can be icky sometimes… and I'm surprised that I was able to pull it off somehow. :B Thanks a lot for reviewing:D

**Mysterious Prophetess**- Thanks for reviewing! .


	6. 05 Secrets

**Untitled.**

**A/N:** RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. I'M REALLY SORRY. ;; I had a million-ba-jillion important responsibilities to attend to (and I still do)! I'll just tell you that I started off to an incredibly busy summer. I was honestly expecting to have more time to write this, but I guess I could kiss that idea goodbye. TT-TT

…By the way, I'm sure all of you know of Utada Hikaru, the one who sang both KH theme songs. Just to let you know… her latest album, "Ultra Blue," has awesome songs in it with Passion (album version) included. So you should buy it. ;D

Ahem. Anyway… here's the 5th chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts II.

* * *

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**Chapter 5 – Secrets**

"Hi, Kairi!" said an anonymous crowd of friendly students. Kairi smiled and waved back with Sora walking next to her. More people kept greeting her along the way; some even acknowledging Sora, while even more others just stared at them and whispered.

"You're pretty popular, huh?" Sora said.

"Not really," she replied, "but I feel like even more people know me somehow."

They entered the cafeteria, expecting to see Kana and Riku already at the table. Instead, they found Riku – surrounded by a small flock of giggling girls with their skirts pulled up to the max. He looked vexed but remained calm to seem indifferent in an attempt to brush them off. Sora and Kairi switched anxious glances at each other.

"Hey, get away from our table!" yelled a female voice. The two saw Selphie with an annoyed expression, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, it's _you_," a girl sneered back. "Leave us alone."

"That's MY line! I _sit_ here – I'm a _friend_ of Riku's and he doesn't want to deal with you right now, so get lost!" Selphie retorted. The whole lunchroom was staring at them now. Like lowly scavengers, the group of girls circled her with domineering posture as Kairi paced toward them in worry with Sora behind her. Riku immediately got up in front of Selphie in defense; the girls froze as Kairi stopped short with Sora bumping into her, but she paid no mind.

"That's enough," he demanded in a low tone. Glancing at each other, the girls reluctantly turned and went to their table without a word, giving Selphie dirty looks. Kairi and Sora stood there as the quarrel broke up as Riku spotted them.

"Hey, you guys are late again," he greeted.

"Selphie, are you okay?" Sora asked as he ignored Riku.

The brunette only stared at the ground as Kairi put her hand on her shoulder.

"Selphie…?" Kairi whispered.

Suddenly she looked up with a victorious grin.

"Did you see that!" she exclaimed, "They were about to kill me, but Riku had them all retreat with their tails between their legs! Thanks Riku, but I wouldn't have minded to knock out a few of them." She put up her fists in a playful fighting stance and jabbed the air.

"Sure…" Riku said, eyeing her skeptically. Sora sighed in relief.

"Oh, so you're fine?" he asked her.

Selphie gave him a thumbs up. "Course I am! You worry too much."

Kairi looked at her with concern but forced a smile.

"Then let's sit," she said.

They all sat down and took their lunches out. Sora thought for a moment before he spoke.

"How did Riku get so popular?" he pondered aloud. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not popular," he replied. "I think they were just talking to me because Hina's at ISS today, or so they said."

"Oh, so they were Hina's crowd," Sora said.

"Pah! I can't stand that name," Selphie sulked. Riku and Sora shot a started look at her from the impulsive mood swing as she frowned at her food.

"So, uh, anyone know where Kana is?" Kairi asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh! I was wondering," Selphie responded, back in her happy mood.

Riku glanced at the empty seat next to him. _I was wondering, too_.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kana groaned to herself in disappointment as she took a bite of her sandwich, her voice echoing throughout the stairwell. She sat on the steps closest to the roof entrance, unable to sit outside because of last night's rain shower.

_I have absolutely no backbone,_ she complained to herself. She thought back on a particular group of girls that intimidated her by staring her down; Kana fled without hesitation. _No doubt they were friends of Hina's… I'm such a coward…_ she thought. She ate the rest of her sandwich and looked at her thick thriller novel that sat on top of her textbooks, but she wasn't in the mood to study or read. Luckily, the bell rang before boredom took her.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"Riku!" Kairi called out.

"Yeah?" Riku replied as she caught up to him. She pulled him to the side so they wouldn't cause traffic in the hallway.

"I wasn't able to ask you during lunch because I forgot. But what did Kana tell you yesterday when you went to her house?"

Riku breathed in before he replied. "I didn't ask."

"_What_?"

"Sorry, but I don't like digging into other people's business," he responded.

"Oh… that's true," she said feeling both disappointed and guilty as she bit her bottom lip. Riku took notice of how she'd always bite her lip if she were even a little upset.

"Hey, isn't your class that way?" she asked, pointing to the stairs.

"Uh – yeah," he said as if he snapped back from a daze, "but I'm really tired. I think I should go to the nurse this time."

Kairi smiled amiably at him; Riku averted his eyes.

"That's good. I've got to go – might be late to class!" she said. And with that, she trotted off into the river of flowing students. Riku watched her but could only see the back of her head, her auburn hair standing out against the ordinary colors of brown and blonde.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

If there was one class that Kana disliked, it was phys ed.; the lack of ability in sports and physical activity balanced out her high academic skill. Kana reluctantly changed into her gym clothes and made her way through the horde of girls to escape the hellhole that was known as the girl's locker room.

The students were separated according to grade; Kana grouped with the other freshmen and sat in her assigned 'squad' row, which was in order of last names. Sora sat in front of her and looked at her questioningly as if he was wondering where she was during lunch. Before he could talk to her, their class started.

After warm-ups, the students scattered into groups of five to practice their basketball passing. Kana glanced at Sora nervously as he paced toward her.

"Hey, man!" called out a voice with a Jamaican accent. Sora turned to see Wakka, his orange hair standing up and his upper brow covered with a blue headband. Kana sighed in relief and hoped that he wouldn't be able to talk with her until she thought up of a believable excuse.

"Hey, Wakka," Sora greeted, "What up?"

He came next to Sora as if to whisper something in his ear.

"You see that girl ovah' dere with the bun an' braids?" he said grinning, gesturing with his thumb.

"Um…" Sora scanned the crowd of juniors to find her talking with other girls, and sure enough her shiny black hair was up in a bun with braids hanging from it. Before Sora could say anything however, he blushed and looked away as soon as he noticed her well-endowed chest. Wakka laughed.

"Cool it, man, she ain't your type!" he sniggered. "Jus' stick wit' Kairi, kay?"

"W-what's THAT suppose to mean!" Sora retorted in a fluster.

"Hahaha! Ya, you heard me," Wakka said, nudging him. "Besides, that girl ovah there is Lulu, an' she's taken." His grin grew wider and prouder as he winked.

"Oh. That's nice," he replied, unsure of where he was getting at. "…and?"

"She's _my_ girlfriend, Sora!"

"Oh! Wow, really?" Sora took another look at her. "Wow. Congrats."

"Ya, not bad, eh?"

Suddenly, a basketball came flying above Sora; without realizing, he automatically turned and swiftly knocked it away with the back of his hand, balled in a fist. With a rush of throbbing pain in his knuckles, Sora realized what he just did – and saw the ball making its way into a direct hit at Kana's head.

"K-KANA – HEADS UP!" Sora yelled.

Kana looked up, but it was too late – the ball struck her right in the forehead as she fell flat on her back on the gym floor.

Sora winced as people circled around her. Wakka whistled.

"You nailed her. Good one," Wakka said with a bit of sarcasm as he pat Sora's back. "So, uh, this is when I get back to my class. See ya!"

Wakka retreated. Sora went over to the crowd that surrounded Kana to find that a gym teacher had already helped her up. She had her hand over her head as she winced in pain and in embarrassment.

"Who did this?" the gym teacher asked.

Sora raised his hand.

"Sorry sir, but it was me," he called out. "It was an accident. I'll walk her to the nurse though – I hurt my hand, so…"

Kana shot a look at the gym teacher with dread in her eyes._ No…!_ She inwardly pleaded in vain.

"Very well," he replied. Kana's head dropped. The small crowd broke up and Sora exited the gym with her.

"Hey, sorry about that…" he said. "And, um, can you lead the way since I'm still a little unfamiliar with the school grounds?"

"Sure… It's this way… and it's okay, I always have someone kick a ball in my face," she said, pointing to the left. Sora laughed sheepishly as they made their way. She shifted uncomfortably as she stared at the ground. Covering her swelling forehead with one hand, she anxiously clutched onto the hem of her skirt with the other. The awkward silence went on, making it seem like their footsteps were the nosiest thing at that moment.

"Hey, Kana?"

Kana jumped in anticipation.

"Y-yes?" She braced herself for the question, only retrieving blanks in search for an answer.

"So…"

_Here it comes…!_ She thought.

"How's life been?" he asked.

"Eh?" Kana stopped short in her tracks and stared at him, dumbfounded. Sora only curiously smiled back at her. "I mean… what?"

"How's life?" he repeated.

"Uh, good…"

They walked on as Sora decided to prolong the conversation.

"Today during lunch, Kairi and I found Riku surrounded by a bunch of girls that were friends of Hina's," he mentioned.

Kana inwardly sighed. _The same girls that drove me away from the cafeteria…_ She recalled to herself. _They were probably told to keep an eye on me._

"But before Kairi and I could get them away, Selphie went over there and cursed them off. It almost turned out into a fight."

"Oh," she replied with surprise. "She did that?"

"Yeah, but Riku broke it up."

"Wow."

They continued to walk; Kana felt a little more at ease to find that Sora didn't decide to ask her about her whereabouts yet and the hand that once held onto her skirt now hung idly at her side. They arrived at the Nurse's Office but before Sora opened the door, he looked back at Kana; she blinked in response.

"What is it?" she asked.

"If anyone tries to push you around, you should stand up for yourself and stay firm. Selphie isn't afraid to do that."

Kana, unsure as to how to react, just stared at him suspiciously. "What are you talking about?"

"You should have confidence in yourself too," he said with a warm smile. Before she could respond, Sora opened the door to the Nurse's Office. "And just think positive," he added.

"About what?" said a low voice. Kana's eyes widened as Sora turned to see a taller, silver-haired boy stepped out of the Nurse's office.

"Oh, hey Riku," Sora greeted.

"Hey." He replied. Riku caught sight of Kana who turned away. He took notice of her hand over her head. "What happened?"

"I accidentally whacked a basketball at her face with my fist, so we kind of need to be treated," Sora replied.

"Nice one. Leave it up to Sora to injure a girl," Riku commented.

"Hey! Say that again!" Sora challenged. Riku ignored Sora and stepped toward Kana, gently placing his hand on her wrist; she flinched.

"Can I see it?" he asked.

"N-no…" she squeaked. "It… it looks so bad."

"Here, you can see my hand," Sora offered, shoving his red knuckles at Riku's face.

"Hah. No one cares about _you_, Sora," Riku replied coolly.

"Haha, shut up, Riku," Sora answered back.

"Whatever. Anyway, where were you during lunch, Kana?"

Kana gulped. _Just what I didn't want to hear… and this is where I begin to panic,_ she said in her head.

"She was in the library making up a test," Sora replied. Kana shot a look of surprise at him. "We were just talking about it… right Kana?"

"Uh – yeah!" she replied, still in disbelief that Sora just willingly lied to his best friend.

"Oh."

Sora opened the door wider and turned to Kana.

"After you," he said.

"Thank you," Kana mumbled, going right into the office.

Riku stepped away from the Nurse's entrance, away from Kana's view, and leaned over Sora's shoulder.

"Where was she really?" he asked.

"Kairi told me that she usually eats lunch on the roof if she doesn't find a seat during lunch, so she was probably up there," Sora whispered back.

"But it rained yesterday…"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know. But my hand really hurts now, so I'm going in."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, you better get that fixed – it looks gross."

Sora took a stepped into the nurse's office, but then turned back.

"Thought you didn't care about me, Riku," he said with a grin.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

The day was finished and Kairi and Selphie leaned against a coconut tree in front of the school. Passing students greeted Kairi as they made their way home.

"Ah, sorry," she said to Selphie. Her friend smirked.

"It's okay – s'not your fault you're popular," she said. Kairi laughed awkwardly, but then brushed it off.

"So what were you saying?" Kairi asked.

Selphie's green eyes were glued to the grass as it protruded out from its sandy foundation.

"Yeah… There isn't a doubt in my mind that Hina's jealous of Kana. She probably did scare her off to keep her away from Riku… and I think we should do something about it," Selphie said scornfully. She clenched her fist. "After I convinced myself that I was over it… God, I hate her so much…"

"Hey, calm down… and don't tightened your fists so much or else you'll bleed," Kairi warned. Selphie took a breath to relax herself and looked up at Kairi with a hurt smile.

"I miss the way things were back before the three of you disappeared… but thanks for coming back sooner than those two guys. When I get the chance, I should really smack them." Selphie did a swift, double slapping motion in the air. "Like that."

"Heheh. I'm fine with it. But don't smack them yet – I haven't told them about you and Hina…"

From afar, Sora called out Kairi's name and she turned to see him and Riku coming their way. Selphie immediately put on a genuine-looking grin as if nothing was wrong in the world.

"I'd actually rather you not tell them," Selphie muttered to Kairi.

Kairi nodded and the two of them greeted the boys with casualness.

* * *

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**a/n: **WAUGH, FINALLY! I AM SO SORRY. I HAD REALLY IMPORTANT CRAP TO DO. ;.; This was also late due to the fact taht i kept revising things -- like changing things around and taking out and saving and putting in scences...I also won't be able to update after this weekend. And I'll try to do it ASAP! Roorgh!

So, uh, I hope the chapter was long enough for you guys… I was trying to make it up to you guys because of my last chapter, which was kind of crappy. :( Also because it's been so long. And, wow, this is the first chapter I wrote that didn't involve the parents… and, yes, they WILL play important parts. Maybe later in the story. I still have to work out the order of events that play in my head.

Raaah! It's 4 in the morning and I have to go to sleep! I must wake up tomorrow! O.O

Oh, and I'm really sorry if there were any dumb typos. I've been typing this up late and all, and I'm too delirious and half-asleep to really check over my work. Aaahahahahaa.

**Responds:**

**Fish and Chips – **Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you don't fine Kana as a Mary-sue (I dislike Mary-sues a lot, so I'm very relieved) and I'm happy that you're impressed. I didn't know I'd impress anyone! X.x It's an honor. I'll definitely keep updating – and I'm sorry for the long wait!

**Mysterious Prophetess –** Yeah, I'm trying to make Hina appear as a b!7#… so I guess it's working. I'm not sure about the heartless coming into play. I can't really say for sure at the moment, but I've been thinking about it:D So I guess wait and see. ;o

**Eckorain **– Aw, thanks a lot! I'm happy I made you anxious about Kana and Riku's relationship, but I'm really sorry for making you wait so long for the next chapter… TOO long, that's for sure. I'm so sorry! TTTT And, yeah, Hina is a good twist, cause she's the one who screws everything up. Pwahahaha!

**Mew Ssomsie **– WAAAAH! I'm so, so, so sorry! You're told me to update faster and I tried, but then… but then…! TTwTT –cries a river- Waaaah! I'm so sorry for updating so late! But, umm… I've been thinking – maybe I should title it "After Story"… I mean, it sounds pretty lame, but better than nothing right? Gosh, I'm so indecisive!

**Cheekie Exel **– Ohhh yeah! I'm Filipino, alright! . Thanks to my Filipino heritage, I got the idea of Riku's family just _inheriting_ the random chunk of land that they hang out on… cause that's what our family did. We just inherited it from my great Lolo. Fortunately, President Marcus hasn't taken it from us during his reign. :D Also: I'm glad to know that you like my RikuOC fic!

**Jupiter Lightning –** I'm happy you want to read more of this… and I'm really, truly sorry for making you wait so long for it! Thanks, I'm flattered to know that you thought that last chapter was a good one… because I definitely thought it sucked. XB And I finally have Riku and Kana have something in common! …or do that? ;D


	7. 06 The Extra Long Chapter

**Untitled.**

**A/N:**

**_ROOOOAAAAAAAAARRR!_ **

I HAVE RETURNED FROM A HORRIBLY BUSY SUMMER.

Now I shall prepare for a horribly busy junior year. --

I don't feel like explaining to you guys why I've been so busy, but I'll tell you anyway. I had to help out with five different retreats that went on during all of June and July, and the last of them ended the first weekend of August. It was fun, but it took a lot of preparation and hard work. Then there was just a bunch of things that just _happened_ out of nowhere after the rest of August – personal stuff that causes mind-ufcking issues that no one don't need to know about. T-T

So, I'm really, really, really sorry guys. There were just some things I that couldn't be helped – I haven't given up on this fanfic no matter how crappy I find it! OO IKU YO!

ANYWAY. I bet you that you guys totally forgot about this fic AND the plot! Sorry again – but even after 5 chapters, I feel like things haven't started happening yet so don't worry:D I'll make this chapter extra long because I feel bad for leaving this alone. Part one is really long, and part two is really short just to warn you. XD

**Pronunciation:  
**Anzai: Ahn-zah-ee (zai is pronounced like "eye").  
Tamashii: Tah-mah-shee

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts II.

* * *

**Chapter 6 – The Extra Long Chapter  
****Part 1 – Let's Do Lunch**

The weekend started off sunny with big white, puffy clouds. Kairi sat on her roof, her chin rested on her knees. She marveled at beauty of the Destiny Island Oceans and smiled when she caught sight of their island.

"What are you looking at?" Sora asked. Kairi turned to her right to see Sora next to her on his back, leaning on his elbows. She smiled.

"Sorry. I just haven't been able to appreciate the scenery until you guys came back," she replied.

"Why?" Riku asked, who laid flat on his back next her other side. She stretched back and closed her eyes; the warmth of the sun was friendly and welcoming. Sora set himself on his back too, and the three of them basked in the sunny rays.

"Because you guys make home complete," she simply stated. "I don't know how I was able to continue living peacefully without you two."

The boys smiled inwardly, but said nothing in response. There was a calming silence among the three – words weren't needed to fill in the gaps between them. Riku had this arms crossed, Sora's hands pillowed his head and Kairi's arms rested at her sides, but all had their eyes closed with content.

"You know, I feel like we're tanning," Sora mentioned. Kairi laughed at the remark as Sora sat up.

"This is relaxing!" Kairi said. "Relaxing weekends shouldn't be wasted."

"We're actually supposed to be studying," Riku reminded.

Sora groaned. "Don't even start to mention that! I'm still not mentally ready for school," he complained.

"Suck it up," Kairi said.

"Actually, I feel the same," Riku agreed, sitting up as well.

"But you've been doing fine with school, Riku!" Sora said. Kairi giggled.

"Riku's just naturally good at everything," Kairi commented. Sora rolled his eyes then looked at Riku, who shrugged in response.

"I don't know," he replied. "So are we going to study or what?"

"Yeah, we are. Let's go inside before we burn," Kairi said.

The three of them entered through the window roof and made their way down to the living room. There, they found a topless college student passed out on the couch. His hair was an unusual blue that reached a few inches below his shoulder. Kairi sighed and went over to him.

"Tamashii! Don't tell me you just got home _now_," Kairi scolded. "Hey, wake up and go to your room." Tamashii made no sign of response. Kairi turned to Sora and Riku with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry guys, he's been doing this for a while now."

"It's okay. But it's been a while since we've seen your brothers," Sora said.

"Yeah, where's Anzai?" Riku asked.

"I have no clue – maybe still sleeping. He works late hours…" she turned her attention back to her brother, "Tamashii, get up already! Sora, Riku and I are going to study here."

Suddenly, Tamashii's eyes shot opened and his head jerked up, startling the trio. He blinked a few times to see Kairi and two guys behind her, frowned, then went back to sleep on his side.

"N-no! Don't go back to sleep!" Kairi cried, shaking him.

"Uh… I guess we'll just have to ignore him," Sora said.

"But he snores so loud," Kairi pouted.

"Aw, it's okay! It can keep me up in case I fall asleep from studying," Sora said with a grin. Kairi smiled back at him and giggled. Riku stood there quietly, crossed his arms and looked away, then saw the clock on the wall.

"Eleven fifteen," he said aloud.

Kairi bit her bottom lip. "Ah… I didn't go grocery shopping for this week yet…"

"Huh?"

"It's almost lunch time," she said.

"…It's alright. We're not hungry. You don't have to feed us," Riku said.

"But I usually cook for my brothers at this time… they just happen to be sleeping still."

Sora and Riku switched glances at each other.

"Want us to order pizza?" Sora offered.

"No, we don't have to eat," Riku insisted. "Let's just study."

Kairi nodded and they took out their notebooks and textbooks. Time went by as they worked together on their math problems and class notes – before they knew it, it was already noontime.

"Kairi, did I do this right?" Sora asked. Kairi moved next to him and looked over his paper. Their shoulders touched and Sora couldn't help but blush a little when he smelled the scent of her hair. Riku saw this but made no snide comment and ignored it.

"Sora, your handwriting is so cute!" Kairi squealed.

"And illegible," Riku quickly added.

"Do you guys like picking on me and my band handwriting?" Sora intoned.

"I think it's adorable. Anyway… over here, I don't understand how you got this answer because 2 squared equals 4, not 49. But anyway, that's not—"

"Uh, Kairi, that's not a 2 – that's a 7," Sora interrupted. Kairi stared at the equation, then ended up bursting into laughter. "Oh, fine, just keep laughing."

"Hahaha, I'm sorry! It's just too cute."

"How is sloppy handwriting cute?" Sora questioned. Kairi didn't stop laughing and Sora ended up laughing at her hilarity. "Hahahaha, what the heck! Why are you laughing?"

"I don't know! Hahaha!"

Riku smiled, but stopped himself from laughing and stood up.

"I'm going out to get us something to eat. You guys just stay here," he said.

"Oh, really? Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" Kairi asked.

"What if one of your brothers wake up and only see us guys?" Riku replied. "Besides, Sora's the one who needs help on his algebra."

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, Kairi," Sora said.

"It's alright. And… thank you, Riku," she said. "Do you need money?"

"My treat," he replied. "Just remember not to get too flirty with each other."

"W-what?" the two chorused. Riku laughed when he saw their faces turn pink and left the house before they could react. After shutting the door behind him, he looked away with an envious look.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Rin hummed as she stirred the steamy soup then went back to making the stir-fried vegetables. Hara rested on the couch and was snoring with a kickboxing magazine left opened and laid flat on her stomach. The phone rang and Hara woke up. Rin picked it up.

"Hello, Kamaya residents!" she answered. "Oh, hello my darling! Ah, you're almost home? Oh, thank goodness!" Rin went over to the stove and continued making the food with the phone between her shoulder and ear. "…Tomorrow? Okay, I'll see you soon then! I love you, sweetie!" Hara got up after the brunette hung up the phone. She yawned and stretched.

"Who was that?" she asked, picking up her magazine.

"That was my daughter! She'll be here tomorrow! I'm so excited!" Rin squealed. "Oh, and lunch is just about finished. The mashed potatoes and corn are done, so can you put them on the table?"

Hara walked over to the kitchen and took the mashed potatoes and corn to set it down on the table. Then she set up the table so that the plates, silverware and placemats were already in place and afterward sat down to open her magazine.

"So did you tell Sora that his sister's coming home?" Hara asked.

"Oh my! I forgot to tell him!" she chimed.

"Predictable," Hara mumbled as she turned a page. "And thanks for letting me stay here for lunch. I can't stand it anymore – I think I was about to break our phone again."

"You are always welcomed!" Rin turned off the stove and put the fried vegetables on a plate and put it next to the mashed potatoes. She went back to the stove to get the soup; Hara raised and eyebrow when she put the soup on the table. "Soup again? It's warm today, like any other day,"

"But the weatherman says it will rain tonight again!"

"Then it's just going to get humid. What is it with you and soup?" she asked as she put some mashed potatoes and vegetables on her plate.

Rin put her hand together and bowed, then put soup in her bowl. "Because winter is my favorite season."

Hara froze as she stared at her friend who smiled happily as she consumed her soup.

"_Winter?_" Hara repeated. "And you live _here_, where it'll never snow until the _apocalypse_?"

"But snow is so pretty!" Rin insisted.

"And what does it have to do with soup?" Hara replied. "Have you ever even seen snow?" Rin blushed and giggled girlishly. Hara shot a suspicious look at her and decided she'd rather not know. "A-anyway… our sons are studying at Kairi's, right?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm…" Hara ate some of her veggies, then pondered aloud, "I wonder if they have anything to eat."

"Kairi's a wonderful cook!"

"That's not what I meant. They might not have food – what were we thinking sending them _there_ when the poor girl is struggling to feed herself, save for her good-for-nothing brothers? I mean with chump change those guys make, I bet you that all of it goes to Kairi's education, and high school expenses are already bad enough!" Hara criticized. "How do they _eat_ in that house? No wonder Kairi's so skinny. I think even _I_ could have offered her a better life if I would've adopted her instead of those brothers."

"Oh Hara, you're being so critical!" Rin blithely exclaimed. "What's done is done, and I think Kairi wouldn't have had it any other way. Besides, I'm sure our boys will do something about lunch."

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kana opened the mailbox and peeked inside, and already she had a feeling that it only contained junk mail and bills. Regardless, she stuck her hand in, took them all out and looked through them – of course, to find only junk mail and bills. She sighed in annoyance and stuffed them back in. Instead of going back inside, she sat on the curb with her hands under her chin. For once, she chose not to read or study and thus complete boredom overtook her. She looked up at the sky to see a passing cloud blocking the sunlight. Suddenly, an image of Riku's face appeared in her thoughts and she automatically blushed. Gasping, she looked away and shook her head.

_What's wrong with me…?_ She asked herself. She got up, but something caught her eye before she made her way to the door. There was a figure with long hair walking passed her development carrying three large, brown paper bags with a ridiculous amount of plastic bags hanging from the arms. She squinted to see whom it was but couldn't make out the face well. Watching the person struggle to even walk, her sympathy for the individual convinced her to help out who ever it was. She paced herself toward the person in need.

"Excuse me, but do you—," Suddenly, she stopped short. As if on cue, the cloud that blocked the sunlight passed and the warm rays poured down upon his face just as she realized who it was. "Riku?" she said aloud.

"Huh?" Riku slowed himself down and turned his head to see Kana, who covered her mouth as if she didn't mean to call out his name. "Oh, hi. How are you?" he casually greeted.

"Uh, that's a lot of stuff," she replied. She felt anxiety creeping in as her heartbeat began to hasten. But like a thorn that constantly poked her, the thought of Hina came up and she regretted meeting Riku at that moment.

"Yeah… it is," he said. Before he said anything further, one of the bags he carried began to tip over. "Whoa!"

"Ah!" Immediately, Kana caught it before it fell and held the slopping bag up. She couldn't help but notice that the bag was full of various foods, as were the other bags. _Groceries?_

"Uh, thanks."

"You need help…!" Kana exclaimed. "You shouldn't be carrying so many – bags of food!"

"No, I'm alright," he insisted. "Unless you want to come along and help me?"

"What?"

"Ha, just kidding. I wouldn't want to trouble you and your mom would wonder why you went away with some long-haired guy," he said. Kana gulped.

"She's not home."

"Oh… again?"

"Yeah…"

Riku thought for a moment, then slowly put the three large bags on the ground then took off the other smaller bags that hung on his arms; there were at least 6 or 7 of them. He immediately stretched and rubbed his arms. "Ow," he muttered. Kana gasped when she saw the red marks on his arms from the bags.

"How long have you been carrying these!" she asked.

"I don't know… since around noontime?" he guessed.

Kana looked at her watch. "It's already a quarter to one."

"Ah, crap," he mumbled as he quickly picked up the bags again. Kana bit her lip in hesitation then grabbed some bags as well.

"L-let me help!" she suddenly offered. Riku shot her a look of surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"I-I think…" she said, looking at the ground.

Riku chuckled at her reply, making her blush.

"W-what?"

"You're pretty spontaneous. Here, carry the lighter ones," he said, pointing at some bags. Kana obediently took them. "Here, this way…" he said as he continued his way. Kana hesitantly looked back at her house then hurriedly followed behind Riku, her heart racing in anticipation. "So what were you doing outside?" he asked as he looked back a little.

"I was checking the mail, but then I saw you. I couldn't tell it was you from afar though… But you looked like you needed help."

"Nice of you to help out a stranger…" Riku looked back at her again and slowed down so that they would be walking side by side. Kana looked shyly looked away. "Sorry, I'm just rushing because Sora and Kairi are probably hungry right now."

"Sora and Kairi?" she repeated questioningly.

"Oh, yeah. We were studying at Kairi's place and I decided to get some food," he explained.

"That's nice of you," she complimented. _Does 'some food' mean all out grocery shopping?_ Kana observed that there was enough food in the bags that would last for a week or two, but kept quiet about it.

"Actually, I…" he trailed off. Kana curiously looked up at him. _I did it to get away_, he thought as he nervously adjusted the bag in his arm. "Nah, I'm not nice. And I never grocery shop, so I don't know if I bought the right stuff."

"You've never went grocery shopping? I think you have everything," she said.

"Oh, okay. And, no, I don't grocery shop at all. My mom doesn't cook… in fact, her cooking's like eating burnt trash," he bluntly stated.

"_W-what_…?"

"Yeah, that's right," he continued, "but Sora's mom can cook well, so we crash dinner there a lot."

"Wow… that sounds like fun," she marveled. "So it's as if you and Sora are real brothers, kind of."

"Mm, I guess. But Sora's family is too weird for me sometimes. Especially his sister," he added.

"Sister?" she repeated. "Sora has a sister?"

"Yeah, she's crazy, so don't ever talk to her."

"Um, Okay," she obeyed without question. In spite of the quick assent, only more questions popped up in her head. Before she could ask him what Sora's sister was like, he interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh, and…" He cautiously hesitated before continuing, "About Kairi's family… she has no parents and she has two older brothers that kind of adopted her as a sister when she was found…"

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Kairi bit her lip as she stared down at the equation. She looked up at Sora, who gave up on math and moved on to history, his blue eyes scanning through the pages of the history textbook. Suddenly he looked up and their eyes met. Kairi smiled.

"How's history going?" she asked.

"Hmm…" Sora shut the textbook closed and put it on the table. "I actually hardly read anything. I was just faking it," he confessed.

"Haha, what! The whole time?" she replied, chuckling. "Sora, you lazy bum."

"Lazy? I'm just not with it right now," he replied. "Can we take a break?"

Kairi put her pencil down and rested her back on the carpet floor, sighing. She observed the plain white ceiling then closed her eyes. "Alright, we'll take a break."

"You seem tired," he said.

"Yeah. Selphie called me up last night and we talked for a long time."

"About what?"

Kairi opened her eyes and looked at him with what seemed like a forced smile. "Just… girl stuff," she replied. Sora only stared back as if he were in hesitation, but then shrugged.

"Oh, I see. So it seems like you two have really gotten close while Riku and I were away."

"Jealous?" she teased.

"What would _I_ be jealous for? What are you implying?" he come-backed with a grin.

"Nothing, you weirdo," she answered back as she sat up again. "Anyway. Yeah, we have gotten to be pretty good friends. She's actually the only girl friend I ever really talk to."

"Well, now you have me!" Sora said.

"Heehee. Of course, and I'm happy. But sometimes it's more convenient to have a _girl_ to talk to, you know what I mean?"

"Whaat? You saying you don't need me anymore?" he replied with exaggerated pouting lips. Kairi knew he was just playing around and laughed as she patted his head.

"I didn't say that! I need some guy friends too and you and Riku are the only close ones!" she said reassuringly. "And thank goodness you've both come back in time."

"Close guy friends, huh?" he pondered aloud, "But what about Wakka and Tidus?"

"Oh. Well…" Kairi trailed off and looked away. She bit her bottom lip as if something about them was taboo. Sora tilted his head, puzzled at why the mention of two names triggered immediate uneasiness.

_Did something happen while we weren't here?_ He thought worriedly. He shook his head in denial as he remembered how everyone, including Wakka and Tidus (and even Kana), had fun on the Island. He looked to Kairi if she had an answer yet, but instead found her in a troubled position in the awkward silence. Guilty to see Kairi this way, he changed the subject.

"S-so – why didn't you invite Selphie to study with us!" he blurted. Kairi gave him a strange look at first, but smiled thankfully.

"Well, the three of us haven't had time together in a while, so I thought it would've been good bonding time," she explained. "Well, even though it just ended up being us two for the time being…" Kairi coughed a little, then looked straight at him. "…Not that I… mind being alone with you."

Sora face reddened at that last statement. He looked at her wondering what she might have implied, but she was blushing too and both looked away immediately after their quick eye contact as they both laughed nervously. _I'm just thinking too much on this,_ he convinced himself. Sora's heart began to beat faster and faster but turned his head a little to peek at Kairi. Throughout the time they were apart, she had definitely gotten more mature and more beautiful in both personality and physicality of body and facial structure. But during the time that Sora and Riku had been away from their home, Sora knew that he wouldn't be able to even imagine at how much Kairi might've gone through without them. Suddenly, a jerking feeling in his chest came when he realized how much of Selphie and Kairi's friendship level had caught up to his own relationship with Kairi. He clenched his fist at the idea of having Selphie know Kairi more than he did. _Maybe I _am_ jealous? _He thought.

"Kairi, I—…!" he voiced with anxious tremor. Kairi almost jumped at Sora's sudden outburst then saw his eyes set in determination with a flushed face.

"Y-yes…?" she asked.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

Hara walked towards her front door, almost lethargically, while she rubbed her bloated stomach.

_Rin's cooking is too good… why can't I cook like that? _She thought to herself. Suddenly, she felt a chill up her spine and she swerved back to look behind her.

No one was there.

Hastily, she entered the front entrance of her house and immediately locked the door behind her. Placing the keys on a table, she scanned the living room and kitchen to look out for any signs of alteration and would occasionally look behind her to make sure she wasn't being watched. After checking to make sure that everything was the same as she had left it, she then approached the phone anxiously as if it were a tiger on the loose, ready to attack. She looked at the number of voice messages – three. Groaning, she pushed the button to listen to her voice mail.

_beep_

"_Hello, Miss Seirya! Remember me? I'm journalist Karihe, here to remind you tha—"_

Before the message was finished, Hara ripped the whole phone off the wall and threw it across the room.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

"We're here!" Riku said as he and Kana entered Kairi's house.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Sora asked as he got up. "Oh, hi Kana."

"Hi," Kana replied shyly.

"How'd Riku end up dragging you he – holy _crap_, that's a lot of food!"

"She helped me carry stuff," Riku said. He went into the kitchen to set the groceries down on the counter; Kana immediately followed and did the same with Sora right behind them. She looked around curiously and cautiously, almost in denial that she was in Kairi's home. The first thing she noticed was a topless guy sleeping on the couch, snoring unpleasantly.

_He has blue hair_, she thought to herself. _Kairi's is reddish-brown… so I guess she really is adopted._ Kana looked at Riku and decided to believe him on.

"I don't think Kairi expected you to go all out shopping for just _lunch_," Sora stated.

"Yeah, I know…" Riku mumbled. He looked back at the living room, only to find the source of the inhumane-sounding snore coming from Tamashii. "Where _is_ Kairi?"

"Upstairs," he replied. As if on cue, Kairi's footsteps were heard as she made her way down the stairs.

"Is Riku here?" she asked. She spotted Kana right away as she walked into the Kitchen. "Kana!" she exclaimed excitedly. Before she could ask what she was doing in her house, she noticed numerous bags of food on the counter. "RIKU!"

"What?" he replied as he began putting things away.

"Why did you get so much food!" she cried as she paced her way toward the bags of groceries.

"I, uh, don't know," he answered.

"Oh yeah, Kana!" Kairi said as if she forgot about her, "Why are you here?"

"She helped him carry those," Sora said, pointing to the grocery bags.

"Wow, how nice of you!" she beamed. Sora sighed at the sight of her wide grin as Kana bashfully smiled back.

"Oh – it was nothing, really," Kana said.

"Since you're here, why don't you stay with us and study?" Kairi offered. "You'd be a great help!"

"Oh, actually …" Before Kana finished, she thought back on the note that her mom taped to the refrigerator back at her house. '_I want to finish something at work. There's food in the fridge. Won't be home 'til late_' the note said. "…Yeah, I think I will."

"Really!" Kairi beamed.

"Yeah… may I use your phone so that I can leave a message at my house?" she asked.

"Oh, sure! Let me show you where the phone is…" Kairi led her to the living room where she slapped her older brother on the shoulder to wake up and go upstairs. Sora shrugged and started to help Riku put the food away.

"Riku, tell me again why you didn't just get pizza?" Sora said as he grabbed some canned food.

"I like Kairi's cooking," he answered.

"And bringing Kana over here too? What was that about?" Sora asked, putting the canned food away.

"I just ran into her and she offered to help."

"Hey, wait a minute." Sora stopped and looked at him as he continued to put the food away. "That sounds weird. You never accept help from anybody when it comes to those little things."

"Huh?"

"I don't know. You always used to handle things by yourself and go through stuff on your own."

Riku looked at him after putting away the last of the last. Flashbacks of the first time he encountered DiZ in the World In Between started to flood back. Then he remembered how there were countless times when King Mickey had saved him, and how he and Sora fought Xemnas together. How was he able to do all of that alone?

"Then I guess I'm just not like that anymore." Riku crossed his arms. "There were a lot of things I wouldn't have been able to do if it weren't for other people's help."

Sora grinned. "So you finally realize that you have friends, huh?"

"But, I'm still not a sap like you," Riku come backed. Sora laughed.

"Haha. Yeah, whatever."

The two girls returned to the kitchen and decided to make beef with fried rice.

- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -  
- --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- - --- -

**The Extra Long Chapter  
Part 2 – Conversation Through Wires**

Riku cursed under his breath as he held the tiny wires with both hands. He looked over the phone manual again that was on the table and cursed again.

"These wires don't match…" he mumbled. "Then again, it's hard to tell when five are the same color and they're ripped from the wall…"

He looked down at the wires again… then at the phone… then at the broken pieces of the phone that were still scattered on the floor. After concluding that it was impossible to fix, he dropped the wires and threw the phone manual on the couch. He looked at the clock. Eight forty five.

"Riku?" said a voice. Riku turned to see his mother in a loose beater and spandex, rubbing her eyes as she yawned.

"Mom."

"When did you get home?"

"Two, three hours ago. Had dinner at Sora's."

"Why didn't you call?" Riku frowned and pointed his thumb at the broken phone. "We still have another phone."

"The ringer is broken. I don't know how to fix it."

Hara sighed. "You don't have to fix our phones. I'll buy a new one tomorrow." She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge in search of dinner. Riku sighed and started to pick up the broken pieces of the phone. Absolute silence filled the room as Riku tried to control his anger. He didn't even bother to ask why she broke the phone again and why she didn't clean up the mess, not that it was much.

"How was Kairi's?" Hara asked.

"Good."

"What did you eat?"

"Fried rice," he replied, deciding that maybe she'd be happier if he didn't mention the word 'beef', as she was a vegetarian.

"Oh, you mean they had food?"

"Yes," he lied, throwing away the mess. Hara took out a plastic bowl of salad and put it on the table with a fork. Before she ate, she stared at Riku intently.

"…What?" he said.

"You need to cut you hair. It's way longer than mine and guys with long hair are unruly," she complained.

"Can I borrow your cellphone?" he asked as he dodged his mom's criticism.

"Why?"

"I think I forgot something at Sora's," he lied again.

"In my room."

Riku quickly made his way up the stairs and into his mom's room to get her cellphone. Then he went to his room and shut the door, dialing Sora's number. He plopped down on his bed and stared out into the sea from his window as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Sora?"

"Oh my God, Riku! My mom just told me that my sister's coming home tomorrow!" he replied. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Really? Where was she anyway?"

"In the city. She works there now."

"Wait, is this what you wanted to talk to me about?" Riku asked.

"Uh, no. I tried called like an hour ago but you weren't picking up."

"Oh… our phones are broken," he said truthfully. "Anyway, what is it?"

"Yeah… it's about Kairi. And Selphie, and Wakka, and Tidus."

"Uh… what about?"

"Do you think something happened between all of them?"

* * *

**a/n:** GOD that was long… -sweating- -panting- Yes! It's almost six in the morning and I have completed chapter 6! O.o

Anyway. I feel like I need to explain the names of the two parts. "Let's Do Lunch" is obvious, because that part revolves around food… o.o And… "Conversation Through Wires". If you haven't noticed, I will point out to you that Riku calls Sora through a CELLPHONE, so technically, they're not "conversing through wires" at all. So I don't mean literally. And notice how Hara (Riku's mom) keeps breaking the phones in the house (the reason will be revealed later on). The broken phones are supposed to symbolize the communication between mother and son. As you can see, they're not very opened with each other and there isn't such a tight bond, hence why I put emphasis on the broken wires that Riku's been trying to fix at the beginning of part 2. There's a lack of communication between the two, so therefore their connection is broken. Do you get me? X.x Yeah, I just wanted to point that out.

**Responds:**

Fish and Chips – Ha, so you have stuff you haven't updated in ages? That must suck. X.x the only reason why I want to update now is because of the people who read this (thank you for being a reader by the way TT.TT). And it's good for me too, because I should finish things I begin anyway. I have so many ideas for this fic and it'd be a shame to just drop it. So thanks for being my fuel. .

Jupiter-Lightning – I'm sorry for making you wait so long. X.x! I'm happy that I was able to make your day (even though it was months ago, but I hope I can make your day again now TT-TT). And, yes, you should get Utada's Ultra Blue CD. In a month or two, she's coming out with a new single! O.o Hah, sorry, I'm an Utada-nut.

Kenshin's Smile – AHH. LOOK, I FINALLY DID IT AA-CHAN. COME AND SHOW YOUR SISTERS MY UPDATED CHAPTER. COME AND REJOICE MY PROCRASTINATION. x.x

Mysterious Prophetess – I'm glad you thought the last chapter was a good one… I hope this one was a good one too. But who knows, I wrote most of this chapter while I was half asleep. :B

Eckorain – Yes! I will keep posting! . The longer the wait the better? I'm glad you think so, because I made you wait REALLY long this time. TT.TT I'm so sorry! –hits self-

Cheekie Excel – I'm actually pretty happy Hina pisses you off. O.o But I haven't done enough stuff with her in this fic, so be prepared to get more of her in the future! (I feel like I'm making this fic into a total drag -.-)

Yuumei Rae – Hey, I don't mind bulk reviews! In fact, I imagine they're easier to read sometimes. O.o Yeah, I like the idea of Riku not having a father. Man, when I read yer review (which was months ago TT-TT), I kept thinking how much we think alike, because we both portrayed Riku and Selphie the same way. I was always fond of Riku's character development in the game, so I just HAD to include it in this fic. And Selphie's just pure hyper in my mind, so naturally she's come out as happy and bouncy in my fic. :D

To Everyone – THANKS FOR READING/REVIEWING! It really does ass fuel to my flame, so… Thank you thank you thank you thank you! TT.TT But if you haven't reviewed yet and you've been reading this…

CLICK THAT BUTTON. XD


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